ECS Geothermal

Location: Kansas City, Missouri

Industry: Geothermal Systems- Sales and Installation

DVS Role: Sell-Side Advisory to Business Owner
The Buyer: Jim Guffey was the key manager at ECS Geothermal for several years prior to the owner’s decision to sell.
The Seller: ECS Geothermal has been in the energy efficiency business since 1993. The company is the largest geothermal installer in KC and one of the largest Waterfurnace dealers in the nation. In addition to providing geothermal HVAC system installations and retrofits for the residential and commercial markets, the ECS Geothermal installs several other lines of home comfort products such as radiant floor heating and pool heater systems.
The Close: The business owner, a serial entrepreneur wished to pursue other investment opportunities. He needed to redirect both the time and liquidity he had tied up in ECS Geothermal. DVS confidentially took the company to market but soon identified its existing management team as being the best candidate to buy the business. DVS structured the transaction and sourced funding for the management buyout while garnering the seller 90% cash at close.

Coast Brothers, Inc.

Location: St. Petersburg, FL

Industry: Wholesale Distributor- Janitorial and Maintenance Products

DVS Role: Sell-Side Advisory to Business Owner

 

The Buyer: Mr. Stephen Collins was eager to relocate to Florida from the Northeast. After a successful corporate career including international assignments in the healthcare industry, he wanted to fulfill his dream of business ownership.

 

The Seller: Coast Brothers, Inc. was a family owned business and a leading wholesale distributor providing over 1000 items for the hospitality, janitorial, healthcare, paper, industrial cleaning, sanitation and maintenance, systems and services. Coast Brothers is a master distributor for a number of well-known manufacturers, and ships throughout the US and the Caribbean.

 

The Close: The business owners needed a quick and confidential transaction in order to dissolve a family partnership. To ensure agreement from all of the equity holders a premium price was required. DVS found the buyer, negotiated a transaction that structured the necessary purchase premium in a manageable format to be agreeable to all parties in addition to sourcing and securing financing. DVS also assisted the buyer in retaining additional advisory support when his network did not produce qualified legal counsel.

JC Grason

Location: Leawood, Kansas

Industry: Financial Services- Tax Planning

DVS Role: Sell-Side Advisory to Business

 

The Buyer: Mr. David Dickens is a senior executive with more than 25 years of experience in the banking and financial services industries.

 

The Seller: JC Grason is an independent income tax and financial services firm, specifically devoted to working with retirees and those planning for their retirement. Their services include retirement planning, tax planning and estate planning.

 

The Close: JC Grason approached the DVS Group with the desire to sell their corporate office in Leawood, Kansas. Prior to taking the business to market, DVS identified Mr. Dickens through their proprietary internal database of passive business buyers. Mr. Dickens’ extensive financial services background made him the perfect candidate to purchase the business. The transaction closed quickly, quietly and with a positive go-forward relationship.

Acceleration

Location: Kansas City, MO

Industry: Pharmaceutical-Contract Research and Manufacturing

DVS Role: Sell-Side Advisory to Business Owner

 

The Buyer: A private investment group led by Mr. Brent Taylor acquired controlling interest in Acceleration, LLC.

 

The Seller: Founded in 2003, Acceleration Laboratory Services, is a FDA inspected contract drug development organization serving clients of all sizes in the pharmaceutical, animal health, other life sciences and food/beverage industries. In 2008, Acceleration was ranked number one on Ingram’s Corporate Report 100, which identifies the fastest growing companies in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

 

The Close: Acceleration had multiple owners all desiring a sale. However, each owner had different needs and objectives. DVS presented their clients with three potential buyers- a Strategic buyer from the same industry, a high net worth Individual buyer and a Private Equity Trust. DVS led the Sellers through the process of deciding which would be the best single Buyer to help the three of them reach their objectives and completed the transaction with a sale to the Private Equity Family Trust.

Aviation Systems Maintenance - VAISALA

Aviation Systems Maintenance, Inc.

Location: Overland Park, Kansas

Industry: Aviation Service-Instrumentation Installation and Maintenance

DVS Role: Sell-Side Advisory to Business Owner

 

The Buyer: Vaisala is a global leader in environmental and industrial management headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. Vaisala’s corporate strategy included a plan to grow as a service provider. The acquisition of ASMI strengthened Vaisala’s position as a maintenance provider in the US airport weather market, complemented its current contracts and added expertise in the maintenance of additional instruments commonly used at airports.

 

The Seller: Aviation Systems Maintenance, Inc. (ASMI) is an Overland Park, KS based aviation service company with more than twenty-five years of experience in the installation and maintenance of ground-based weather reporting systems and navigational aids.

 

The Close: The DVS Group was engaged to assist this family-owned company in an Exit Planning capacity. Concerns of the tightly regulated industry and a limited buyer pool narrowed their choices to include only highly sophisticated corporate buyers. DVS created a competitive sale environment by approaching multiple parties. The potential buyers included a strategic buyer with a defensive incentive to purchase the business. The sellers obtained a premium price and deal structure for their business and the transaction closed within forty-five days.

Odegard Sign & Lighting

Location: Kansas City, Missouri

Industry: Construction-Sign Fabrication and Installation

DVS Role: Sell-Side Advisory to Business Owner
The Buyer: Mr. Dwayne Kurecka was a senior executive with extensive management experience in leading highly successful sales and operations for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Mr. Kurecka was recognized for revitalizing and growing major markets.
The Seller: Odegard Sign Company is a full-service signage solution company that offers a full range of services related to interior and exterior on-premise signage, lighting maintenance and energy efficient lighting conversions, billboard construction and maintenance. Their services include: construction, fabrication, installation, maintenance, design, billboard construction/maintenance and lighting maintenance.
The Close: The seller had previously achieved success by buying, growing and selling businesses in a relatively short period of time. After only owning the business for two years, the seller approached the DVS Group to create a Confidential Informational Memorandum. DVS presented the company to a handful of its qualified internal pool of buyers and the transaction was completed quickly and quietly.

River City Meat Company, Inc.

Location: Kansas City, Missouri

Industry: Wholesale – Meat and Poultry

DVS Role: Sell-Side Advisory to Business Owner

 

The Buyer: River City Meat Company, Inc. was a family-owned meat wholesaler specializing in the processing and sale of high-end animal proteins with a focus on the white-linen restaurant market.

 

The Seller: Alma’s Farm Fresh Meats is a co-op meat processor, smokehouse and regional dry aging facility for animal protein products. Alma’s sells to both the retail and wholesale markets.

 

The Close: The partners who owned River City Meat had reached retirement age, but were unsure how to source a buyer for their company. The sale of their business was complicated by the small margin, capital intensive nature of their industry. DVS found the Sellers a Strategic buyer for their company that was familiar with the industry and appreciated the value of their business. The deal closed confidentially on mutually beneficial terms.

Adams Gabbert & Associates

Location: Kansas City, MO

Industry: Professional Services- Strategic Alignment and Business Operations Consulting

DVS Role: Sell-Side Advisory to Business Owner

 

The Buyer: Mariner Capital Partners is the private equity arm of Mariner Wealth Advisors, located in Leawood, Kansas.

 

The Seller: Adams Gabbert is a premier, minority-owned consulting company specializing in operations consulting: project management, process excellence, strategic alignment, risk management, and staffing.

 

The Close: The owners had grown Adams Gabbert into a successful regional firm but they felt that they needed help to take their company to the next level. When the ownership approached DVS they were uncertain as to whether they wanted to sell the company that they had built or to franchise their concept nationally. DVS helped them identify financial security as being their primary priority and set out to find the ideal buyer. DVS confidentially found a buyer that gave the sellers the flexibility to stay on within the new company in an enjoyable role but also rewarded them with the financial security that they had been looking for.

Labtech

Location: Kansas City, Missouri

Industry: Staffing and Recruiting – Laboratory Scientists

DVS Role: Sell-Side Advisory to Business
The Buyer: Corey and Norma Orton sought to go into business together after separate corporate careers. Though living in the area of Des Moines, Iowa, at the time, the Ortons expressed a willingness to relocate for the right opportunity.
The Seller: Labtech is a premiere staffing company that specializes in the placement of both temporary and full time scientific professionals for the food and beverage, clinical, pharmaceutical, and medical industries. The owner, Ms. Heather Norris, had operated the company for 12 years, and initially contacted DVS to assist her in acquiring a second company. In the course of her search, she decided to sell Labtech in order to create more liquidity for her other acquisition while also removing the distraction of running 2 companies at once.
The Close: Labtech had clients in food business so Norma’s career with Wells Enterprises, owner of Blue Bunny Ice Cream and other brands, was meaningful despite her (and Corey’s) lack of experience in staffing. Norma led the acquisition and DVS ensured that Heather assisted with transition of ownership for a year. DVS also provided assistance with the financial structure of the transaction to provide the desired liquidity to Heather for her other pursuits.